This disclosure relates to managing gas turbine engine fan operability and operating characteristics using a variable area fan nozzle.
One typical gas turbine engine includes low and high speed spools housed within a core nacelle. The low speed spool supports a low pressure compressor and turbine, and the high speed spool supports a high pressure compressor and turbine. A fan is coupled to the low speed spool. A fan nacelle surrounds the fan and core nacelle to provide a bypass flow path having a nozzle. Typically, the nozzle is a fixed structure providing a fixed nozzle exit area.
The fan's operating line must be controlled to avoid undesired conditions such as fan flutter, surge or stall. The fan operating line can be manipulated during engine operation to ensure that the fan operability margin is sufficient. The fan operating line is defined, for example, by characteristics including low spool speed, bypass airflow and turbofan pressure ratio. Manipulating any one of these characteristics can change the fan operating line to meet the desired fan operability margin to avoid undesired conditions.
The engine is designed to meet the fan operability line and optimize the overall engine performance throughout the flight envelope. As a result, the engine design is compromised to accommodate various engine operating conditions that may occur during the flight envelope. For example, fuel consumption for some engine operating conditions may be less than desired in order to maintain the fan operating line with an adequate margin for all engine operating conditions. For example, fan operating characteristics are compromised, to varying degrees, from high Mach number flight conditions to ground idle conditions for fixed nozzle area turbofan engines. This creates design challenges and/or performance penalties to manage the operability requirements.